MMM removal

[snowman]

Jon;

Very easy to handle.

The only time I turned it over was when I took it off for good for the winter season (have to take off the mmm hardware so that I can put on the hardware for my front blower).

I didn't actually turn the mm over; I just leaned it up against the garage wall. The deck was quite clean; very little crud for me to remove. I was kind of surprised since I mowed fields, mud, rocks, small trees, and even grass for the whole summer and this was the first time I even looked under the deck.

 

[Joyce]

Bo, That term 'it's heavy, but it ain't too bad', is all relative of course. I took my 60"mmm off of my 2910 the other day, for the winter season here in Maine. Taking it off was a piece of cake (even with no manual). I hope it lines up as easily come spring. Anyway, I had all good intentions of cleaning the bottom before storing it away for the winter, but I could not lift the thing up! Hey! Not fair. I tried the angle of using my car jack, but there was no good place to hook it onto. I don't have the FEL option, though in our yard, we have an old FEL back hoe. I may try that if our 50 degree weather in December continues. Otherwise, I wait until spring.

"Ain't too bad..." Geeze/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[Jeff396]

Yep, I'm a wimp too./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Once I got my mmm out from beneath the tractor I decided it would be better to lift the rear wheels up to their highest setting for moving it around. It took me three tries to lift it up with one hand while simultaneously repositioning the wheel. What raced through my mind was, "how the heck am I going to get this turned over to check or remove the blades?". I guess I'll figure that out when I have to. I guess I have to look into some hooks for the FEL....

Jeff

 

[theboman]

Another way to lift you MMM without help or a FEL is with a 2X4 (or big ol' pipe, etc). Leverage is a wonderful thing.


Bo McCarty
Bluegrass, Pick It Up!

 

[Jeff396]

But then I couldn't whine about my aching back and have my wife wait on me hand and foot./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Jeff

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Would one of those relatively cheap boom poles lift a MMM high enough for routine maintenance?
DRT

 

[theboman]

I've seen those boom poles lift engine blocks, logs. etc, just make sure the chain/strap can handle the weight.

Bo McCarty
Bluegrass, Pick It Up!

 

[theboman]

Joyce, I'm just a dumb hillbilly, I ain't the smartest person in the world, just one of the better looking ones. It's heavy, but ain't too bad, well it could be so heavy you can't drag it from under the tractor and takes 2 people to take off or install.


Bo McCarty
Bluegrass, Pick It Up!

 

[snowman]

Jeff;

One way to adjust to wheels rather than holding it and trying to adjust it at the same time is to put some wood blocks or something underneath the mower edge, then make the wheel adjustment.

One thing that I've learned is to keep old wood board pieces around. I have four pieces of 2x8 that I use alot - when I change the oil, I drive up onto these to give me a little extra working room underneath. When I put my rear blade on, the 3 pt doesn't lift it high enough to remove the blade's stand, so I put two 2x8's on top of each other and back up onto them - this raises the 3pt high enough to remove the stand. I also use them to raise the front end when I take my FEL off and stick it on a dolly that I made.


For cleaning underneath the MMM or removing the blades, when I turned mine over, I did not actually flip it all of the way over. I rolled it to the garage wall, with the front of the mower against the wall (after I took the bracket off that holds it to the front of the tractor). I then lifted up the other side of the mower and leaned it against the wall with the underside now facing me. With the front against the wall, the wheels on the front of the MMM make it easier to "roll" the MMM on its side.

 

[Jeff396]

test

 

[Jeff396]

Test

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Jeff396 on 12/05/01 03:09 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Jeff396]

test sorry, muddleing through this/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Jeff396 on 12/05/01 03:22 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Joyce]

Bo, What is a 'boom pole'? I've never heard of one.

 

[Joyce]

Jeff,
This might be the first intelligent thing I've done with my tractor...BEFORE I took my mmm off, I adjusted the wheels for the ease of it rolling out from under the tractor. Seems easier than unhooking it, then using boards, etc. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
I too, tried flipping my mower over for the cleaning. I tried picking it up, but I just don't have the brute strength, though maybe if I was mad at something or someone, I would. I'll have to try that next time /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif! I even tried my pile of handy boards, first working lever style to get it in the air a bit. Unfortunately, it kept rolling away from me. Still awkward when I put it up against the future garage wall. (We are in the process of building. There is a garage floor, and the foundation wall comes up 6" or more on the sides, so I put the mmm against that.) I was also concerned about putting scratches on my lovely new toy...so, I'll have to work something else out.

 

[Bird]

Joyce, try http://www.ssbtractor.com/page21.html to look at a boom pole. It's just a way to lift things with the 3-point hitch.

 

[Jeff396]

I did adjust them before I disconnected the mmm. I put the two caster front wheels and the rear left wheel down all the way and turned the real left wheel perpendicular to the tractor. Problem was that once I got it out I found that rolling it on these three wheels didn't work real well so I decided to lower the rear center pair of wheels back down all the way. These have to be all the way up in order to slide it out from the tractor. It does roll much nicer when you don't use the rear left wheel at all. By the way, is there a preferred side to roll the mmm out from under the tractor?

Jeff

 

[snowman]

"is there a preferred side to roll the mmm out from under the tractor?"

I always take mine off towards the right hand side as you're sitting on the tractor; the side with the discharge chute.

This is because the other side of the MM has less "stuff" sticking up to catch under the tractor. I don't even know if I could do it from the other side, as I always just seem to have enough room past the front tires; I think the chute would not let me do this.

 

[Jeff396]

Thats what I did mainly because I wanted to see if it would come out without having to remove the bagger drive attachment. Still, it was a bit of a chore as it was a tight fit. I was looking at the two ends and without measuring I "thought" the mower deck was a little thinner on the left side as you sit on the tractor. But this was just by eyeballing it. We'll see how it goes back on./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

For anybody following the mid PTO cover saga, two trips to Home Depot and I still haven't come up with anything trick enough to satisfy me. The only thing I found was some 1" I.D. pool system hose that you could cut to length and put a cap on it. The only hang up is whether there will be enough friction to hold it on. I originally thought I would get some sort of cup to fit the cast iron piece the shaft comes out of. Unfortunately there is only a 1/4 inch lip for it to fit on. I still may head back that way with some sort of strap though if all else fails.

Jeff

2001 B7500hsd, la302 fel, 60"mmm, grass catcher

 

[theboman]

Thanks Bird for the link to the boom poles. I can hear my explaination... it's a pipe on the back of the tractor...

Bo McCarty
Bluegrass, Pick It Up!

 

[Joyce]

Bird,
Thanks for the link. Pictures were helpful...I couldn't quite picture it.
Soooooooooo many toys a person could own.